Results from Game Design Challenge: Reviving Resident Evil

[11.06.12]- GameCareerGuide.com staff

Ian Atherton, Game Designer and Game Artist at University of Washington

"Beneath Umbrella Manor"
Unpredictability has a major impact on fun, and interestingly enough, terror. And is something sorely lacking from most horror games, when every monster's in a closet (Doom 3) or every monster telegraphs its presence (RE 5) things just aren't as scary. Beat the game, and that scariness evaporates entirely. Maybe that's good for the business that needs people to come back for the sequel, but it isn't all that great for the player who wants to continuously get thrilled, scared, and excited by their game, play after play.

Instead of making story driven games with sub-par stories, make enthralling, terrifying, awesome, and fun games built simply on the merits of tight gameplay, randomness, replay-ability and tension.

Story: The first S.T.A.R.S. squad was dispatched to the Umbrella Manor to no avail. As one of the last police officers in your squad it's your job to explore the labyrinthine manor, search for the S.T.A.R.S team, find and destroy the T-Virus, and most importantly, survive.

Controls/Interface: Exactly the same as RE 4, but with no pausing during inventory management.

Nemesis type enemy that patrols various floors, attacking, running away, and appearing again later

Player made map (WiiU 3DS)

Different classes that allow the player different avenues of survival/combat (ex. Biology Minor: can augment the T-Virus to better suit her, Special Forces: excels in melee combat Jill Sandwich: tastes great, low fat)

Seed numbers provided on successful missions so you can replay certain scenarios if you choose to, or suggest them to your friends

Injury system in favor of classic hitpoints (deal with injuries on case by case basis, stop bleeding, casts for breaks, stop virus infection)